War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that an Iranian leader behind a unit that attempted to assassinate President Trump has been killed in Iran amid Operation Epic Fury.

‘The leader of the unit that attempted to assassinate Trump has been hunted down and killed,’ Hegseth said during a press conference Wednesday morning.

‘Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh,’ Hegseth continued. ‘Now, this is not a ‘mission accomplished’ situation. This is simply a reality check.’

In 2024, Iran-linked actors attempted to arrange an assassination plot to take out the president. Iran has previously threatened to assassinate Trump following the 2020 killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. 

In 2022, an Iranian video depicted an assassination attempt on Trump while he played golf.

U.S. officials confirmed earlier this week that strikes on Iran, which began Saturday, killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Trump reflected on Khamenei’s death in a call to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl earlier this week, saying: ‘I got him before he got me.’

‘They tried twice,’ Trump continued, referring to Iran’s previous attempts on his life. ‘Well, I got him first.’

Meanwhile, Hegseth, on Wednesday said the combination of U.S. and Israeli intelligence and combat power ‘will control Iran and will control it soon.’

‘America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy,’ Hegseth said.

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The Israeli military’s latest wave of airstrikes in Iran dealt a serious blow to the country’s brutal internal security apparatus, opening the door for a potential uprising.

During the strikes, Israel ‘dropped dozens of munitions on the Basij and internal security command centers that are subject to the Iranian terror regime,’ the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday. ‘The targeted command centers were used by the Iranian regime to maintain control throughout Iran and maintain the regime’s situational assessments.’

Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. has hit nearly 2,000 targets as it carries out a sweeping military campaign aimed at dismantling the regime’s security apparatus and neutralizing threats. Adm. Brad Cooper of U.S. Central Command confirmed the number of targets hit in a video message.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij militia, Iran’s volunteer paramilitary force, were behind the violent crackdown on protesters in January. The bloody crackdown saw regime actors firing on crowds and conducting mass arrests of Iranian protesters. Some had seen the protests as a sign that regime change in Iran was getting nearer, though it did not occur.

Israeli and U.S. officials have hinted at the possibility of regime change in Iran as both countries take aim at Tehran’s military and security sites.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message announcing the launch of Operation Epic Fury, which Israel calls Operation Rising Lion, that it was time for Iranians ‘to rid themselves of the yoke of tyranny.’ Similarly, President Donald Trump said in a message to the Iranian people on Feb. 28 that ‘the hour of your freedom is at hand.’

‘When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations,’ Trump said.

‘America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny, and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass,’ the president added.

Ali Vaez, director of the Iran project at the International Crisis Group, told The Wall Street Journal that the path to regime change through foreign airstrikes and popular uprising on the ground has ‘a bet that rests on no clear historical model.’ Vaez also warned that the idea ‘ignores the resilience of entrenched authoritarian systems like the Islamic Republic.’

The IDF said on Monday that Israel had hit headquarters, bases and regional command centers that belonged to the regime’s internal security apparatus.

‘These bodies were responsible for, among other things, suppressing protests against the regime through violent measures and civilian arrests,’ the IDF said.

It is unclear who will lead Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the operation. Since then, Israel and the U.S. have made it clear that regime leaders chosen to replace him would be targets. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Wednesday that anyone chosen to replace Khamenei would be considered ‘a target for elimination’ if they continued to threaten Israel, the U.S. and regional allies.

The killing of key leaders might not be enough to cause an uprising, as the regime has a monopoly on weapons in most of Iran, the WSJ reported, adding that Basij militants are still patrolling the streets.

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

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Israel’s military said Wednesday that one of its F-35I ‘Adir’ stealth fighter jets shot down an Iranian Air Force Yak-130, marking the first time the advanced aircraft has downed a manned fighter in combat. 

‘The historic shootdown over the Tehran skies is a testament to the strength of the Israeli Air Force and to your personal determination,’ said Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, the commander of the Israeli air force. 

‘The war continues – return home safely. Get some rest,’ he told the pilots. ‘The next mission is already waiting for you.’

The F-35I is Israel’s customized version of the U.S.-made F-35 Lightning II, a fifth-generation stealth fighter that anchors the country’s air fleet.

According to the F-35 program’s official website, Israel became the first country to select the aircraft through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales process, signing a letter of agreement in October 2010. 

The site says the Israeli air force gave the jet the Hebrew name ‘Adir,’ meaning ‘Mighty One,’ and received its first F-35 on June 22, 2016.

The Yak-130 is a Russian-made, two-seat combat training aircraft designed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau, according to United Aircraft Corporation, the state-owned Russian aerospace company that manufactures the jet.

It made its maiden flight in 1996 and is currently in active production.

Iran’s air force received its first Yak-130 training aircraft in September 2023, according to Press TV, Iran’s state-run English-language broadcaster.

In November 2023, Brig. Gen. Mahdi Farahi, Iran’s deputy defense minister, told Tasnim, a semi-official Iranian news agency, that plans had been finalized for Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, Mil Mi-28 attack helicopters and Yak-130 trainers to join the country’s armed forces.

Tasnim reported that Iran previously acquired MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia in the 1990s.

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Former Major League Baseball star Mark Teixeira has clinched the Republican primary to succeed GOP Rep. Chip Roy in southwest Texas.

Teixeira secured more than 61% of the vote, avoiding a runoff in the 12-candidate primary field.

Teixeira announced his candidacy for the Lone Star State’s 21st Congressional District seat last August. The seat is currently held by Roy, who has said he is running for Texas attorney general.

The announcement of Teixeira’s campaign came days after Republican state lawmakers approved a redistricting map aimed at strengthening the GOP’s position in the 2026 election.

President Donald Trump endorsed Teixeira in the race, and Teixeira pledged to work with the president to secure the border and end what he described as ‘radical woke indoctrination.’

The Club for Growth PAC, which — along with affiliated super PACs — contributed more than $250,000 to Teixeira’s candidacy, applauded his primary victory. Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh said the group was ‘proud to have supported Teixeira in the race.’

‘On the campaign trail, Mark Teixeira outlined his plan to lower taxes, cut red tape, and expand school freedom for every family in Texas. Voters believed in his vision, and rewarded him with the Republican nomination,’ McIntosh said.

Teixeira began his MLB career with the Texas Rangers after being selected fifth overall in the 2001 MLB Draft. His 14-season career included three All-Star selections, five Gold Gloves, three Silver Slugger Awards and a World Series title with the New York Yankees in 2009. Teixeira and his family moved back to Texas in 2021 after he retired from baseball.

Teixeira defeated fellow Republican candidate Daniel Betts, who ran unsuccessfully for Travis County district attorney last year.

The 21st Congressional District covers a heavily Republican area west of Austin and San Antonio.

On the Democratic side, Dr. Kristin Hook was leading the primary field with roughly 61% of the vote Tuesday night, setting up a general election matchup in November.

Teixeira described his primary win as a ‘huge victory.’

‘We’re going to run a strong race and win big in November, then hit the ground running to fight for Texas families,’ Teixeira said. ‘Thank you again, TX-21. God bless Texas, and God bless America.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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In proclaiming a ‘golden age of America’ in his State of the Union address, President Trump correctly focused on his initiatives to fix the problems perpetrated by the Bush, Obama, and Biden administrations that undermine the physical and economic security of the United States. One of those initiatives is Trump’s war on fraud, which, according to the president, is intended to root out and remedy the ‘corruption that shreds the fabric’ of our nation.

Under the leadership of Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Colin McDonald, Trump’s nominee for the newly created federal post of assistant attorney general for the National Fraud Enforcement Division, Trump’s war will get waged aggressively. As the president put it, ‘We are not playing games.’

But to win the war against fraud, the Trump administration must force the uniparty institutionalists at the Justice Department to change course and protect a key ally in the war on fraud: whistleblowers. Despite being treated as pariahs for decades by the Justice Department’s elitist careerists, whistleblowers are instrumental in enabling the recovery of taxpayer dollars from entities that defraud the government. Whistleblowers play a critical role under the False Claims Act, which has been used to recover $85 billion in taxpayer dollars since 1986. Just last year, the government recovered more than $6.8 billion under the False Claims Act – the highest single-year recovery in its history.

Unfortunately, parts of the Justice Department have not gotten Trump’s memo. This is particularly true of the career attorneys in the DOJ’s Civil Division, which is given investigatory and litigation responsibilities under the False Claims Act.

The Civil Division maintains policies that undermine Trump’s war on fraud. How? Those policies undermine whistleblowers—the foot soldiers in the trenches—who uncover and litigate fraud claims on behalf of the Justice Department. The Civil Division maintains it has the unfettered discretion to dismiss any anti-fraud lawsuit brought by a whistleblower under the False Claims Act merely by deciding the lawsuit will not vindicate the government’s interest—whatever that means. The Civil Division maintains it can make this decision without evidentiary support and without regard to the underlying facts. That’s hard to reconcile with the Supreme Court’s 2023 8-1 decision in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., Inc., which held that the Justice Department does not enjoy such unfettered dismissal discretion.

More problematically, the Civil Division’s continuation of the Bush, Obama and Biden anti-whistleblower policy undermines the Trump administration’s efforts to combat fraud. Indeed, despite years of hard work and lot of money invested by whistleblowers, the Civil Division maintains it can pull out the rug from under whistleblowers at any time, for any reason, or no reason. This arbitrary Civil Division policy makes it much less likely whistleblowers will enlist in Trump’s war on fraud.

Targets of fraud enforcement by the Trump administration properly include Somalian day care centers, university DEI programs, and other examples of corruption actively promoted by Democrats. A whistleblower exposing such fraudulent and illegal activities does so at considerable personal risk. But what whistleblower would knowingly take this risk if her action under the False Claims Act were subject to Civil Division policy it could dismiss any lawsuit, at any time, for any reason, or no reason?

Americans have learned the hard way that we have magnitudes more fraud than federal prosecutors and agents to root it out, so the Justice Department’s support of whistleblowers is more critical than ever. A successful war against fraud requires alignment across the government. Vance acknowledged as much, noting in a recent Fox News interview that his efforts will include a ‘full, whole government approach’ to investigating fraud concerns. But this approach necessitates that the Civil Division change its policies to support, rather than undermine, a critical ally in Trump’s war on fraud: whistleblowers.

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A U.S. submarine sunk a prized Iranian warship by torpedo, the first such sinking of an enemy ship since World War II, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday morning.

‘The Iranian Navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf. Combat ineffective, decimated, destroyed, defeated. Pick your adjective,’ Hegseth said. ‘In fact, last night we sunk their prize ship, the Soleimani. Looks like POTUS got him twice. Their navy, not a factor. Pick your adjective. It is no more.’

This is a developing news story; check back for updates.

As Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison are set to testify before Congress on Wednesday morning, a Republican Minnesota lawmaker spoke to Fox News Digital about what they should be asked and what needs to happen next to get to the bottom of the problem. 

I’m hoping they’re asked directly, ‘Governor Walz, why haven’t you taken the corrective actions and why haven’t you brought your people back? Does that have an impact? Why have you not done that?” state Sen. Mark Koran said about Walz’s upcoming testimony, pointing to the large remote work force that likely contributed to the lack of oversight in the scandal that prosecutors say could cost taxpayers $9 billion or more. 

‘Because he knows — they need to position that question to him because he knows he can’t continue to pander and do what’s right, right? He just can’t.’

Ellison’s testimony is likely to include questions from members of Congress about a 2021 audio recording of him meeting with members of the Somali community who would soon be convicted of defrauding millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

According to Koran, Ellison has ‘real issues to deal with’ during his testimony on that issue and suggested the recording shows he was offering to ‘protect’ the eventual fraudsters. 

‘You know who the clients are of Attorney General Keith Ellison?’ Koran said. ‘All the state agencies. So their attorney is going to go work against what’s right from a statutory requirement to stop them from performing their job? If they were even going to do their job?’

Although Walz announced early this year that he would drop his bid for a third term amid mounting criticism of the fraud scandal, he is still serving as governor, which many of his detractors have said doesn’t show true accountability.

Koran agrees with those who have called on Walz to resign, saying that he would if he had ‘any morals’ but ‘he won’t,’ and pointed out that even if Republicans had the super majority needed to impeach Walz, his spot would be taken by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who Koran called ‘far more radical.’

New findings have continued to trickle out as investigations into the fraud become more prevalent, including a state audit conducted by the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor released in January that found widespread failures and internal control problems in the Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) grant program.

The 2026 regular session of the Minnesota Legislature officially kicked off on Feb. 17, and Koran outlined what Republicans will be focused on in order to reign in the fraud concerns.

‘The game plan is really to put pressure on all of them. There are things we could start to do today, we truly do have an interest to do that,’ Koran said. ‘You know, we’ve seen what’s hit the headlines; an Independent Inspector General probably could put together the best plan for that. That doesn’t solve today’s problems, right? That doesn’t solve it. We’ve got to solve it on the front end.’

Instead, Koran says the top priority should be a professional services contract with an independent entity ‘to do eligibility determination’ and ‘use the best of all data available to ensure those eligible receive benefits.’ But, he argued, Democrats have ‘been resistant to do any of that.’

Speaking about why he thinks the fraud scandal was able to reach the level that it did, Koran said, ‘I think there’s some incompetency. They’re certainly willfully complicit.’

He continued, ‘But I think the third element today that is bigger than ever is, our state government is as ineffective in delivering for the citizens of Minnesota than we’ve ever been in the history of government.’

Walz and Ellison will testify at a hearing ‘Oversight of Fraud and Misuse of Federal Funds in Minnesota: Part II’ on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 10 a.m. EST.

‘Americans deserve answers about the rampant misuse of taxpayer dollars in Minnesota’s social services programs that occurred on Governor Walz’s and Attorney General Ellison’s watch. The House Oversight Committee recently heard sworn testimony from Minnesota state lawmakers who stated that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison failed to act to stop this widespread fraud and retaliated against whistleblowers who raised concerns,’ House Oversight Chair James Comer said in a press release.

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